Chapter Two: Existing Conditions Tredyffrin Township
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Chapter Two: Existing Conditions SECTION 2.1: INTRODUCTION Tredyffrin Township is located in the middle of an area known as the Great Valley, in east-central Chester County, about 20 miles west of central Philadelphia. The surrounding municipalities are East Whiteland Township, Charlestown Township, Schuylkill Township, Upper Merion Township, Easttown Township, Radnor Township and Willistown Township. The most prominent physical feature of the Township is topography that contains the North Valley and South Valley Hills with a broad valley lying between them. While the valley includes gently sloping hills and creeks, the uplands associated with the North and South Valley Hills include steep grades and ravines. A network of waterways traverses the Township, most notably Valley Creek, and Trout Creek, and their many associated tributaries. The land along these waterways is also the most common incidence of steeply sloping land. The Township contains approximately 20 square miles (12,698 acres) of land area and measures just over nine miles east to west and about 3.75 miles from north to south. Chapter Two describes Tredyffrin Township as it is today and begins to consider the future of the Township based on trends from the recent past and forecasts for tomorrow. This exploration investigates the Township’s natural and built environment and analyzes changes in population, housing and employment, including forecasts for future growth and change. Grounded in an understanding of today’s conditions, and how they have occurred over time, this chapter sets the stage for an intelligent exploration of the possibilities for the future in subsequent chapters. The data, mapping and discussion included in the following sections are the result of months of data collection, analysis, and coordination with the Steering Committee, Tredyffrin Township staff, and members of the community at large. The analysis included in this chapter was developed to identify the existing conditions in Tredyffrin Township, in order to consider how to develop policies and strategies that will maintain residents’ quality of life. SECTION 2.2: EXISTING LAND USE Current land uses in the Township represent a diverse mixture, with several recognizable geographic patterns that have been defined by the transportation corridors that run the breadth of the Township. The most visually prominent pattern is the substantial office and retail development that runs along the US Route 202 corridor. To Tredyffrin Township Comprehensive Plan 8 Chapter Two: Existing Conditions EXISTING LAND USE the north of this corridor, low density residential development is widespread. The land south of the US Route 202 corridor (excepting areas along US Route 30) is predominately residential development, though it is to varying degrees more compact than the development located in the northern section of Tredyffrin Township. The US Route 30 corridor is substantially retail development, though some mixed-use development exists as well. Other important land use features include: the Valley Forge National Historical Park, partially located within the boundaries of Tredyffrin Township in its northern section; significant open space preserves that have been acquired by the Open Land Conservancy, predominately in the western and northwestern portion of the Township; and, the Chesterbrook development, an innovative 1980s mixed-use, higher density development located in the north-central portion of the Township. The examination of how land is currently used in Tredyffrin Township serves as the basis for discussions about the future. It is through an analysis of existing conditions that we can understand current land use. It also prepares us for a discussion of what might change in the future, and how land use may be guided to produce positive results for the Township. The existing land use inventory, as depicted in Figure 2.2.1, was developed from information provided by Tredyffrin Township, itself derived from Chester County tax assessment data. This base information was then updated and revised by the consultant team through the use of 2005 aerial photography, field verification, and using the local knowledge of municipal staff and the members of the Steering Committee. The existing land use map uses color to differentiate land uses. It depicts uses that relate to the more structured, built environment such as lands used for residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional development, as well as recreational, transportation and utility use. It also includes areas not defined by urban uses such as agricultural, vacant and open space land. Residential Use Historically, Tredyffrin Township was predominantly agricultural, with several crossroad villages strung along Lancaster Pike. During the 1950s and 1960s the Township experienced rapid residential growth, followed by a decline in the rate of growth in the 1970s. The 1980s saw strong residential growth followed by moderate population gains Tredyffrin Township Comprehensive Plan 9 Chapter Two: Existing Conditions EXISTING LAND USE in the 1990s. The pace of residential growth has slowed partly because much of the most developable lands have been converted to residential use. Today, residential land uses cover about half of the Township or just over 6,200 acres; single-family detached residential units use the majority of that acreage. The pattern and intensity of residential use follows the evolution of the Township’s identity. The densest residential areas are generally located along Lancaster Avenue, where they developed as extensions of the original settlements. Exceptions include the higher density residential development that is part of the Chesterbrook development, built in the 1980s in the heart of Tredyffrin Township, just north of US Route 202. As the Township moved away from its agricultural focus, natural and agricultural lands were generally converted to low density residential use in a wide band that extends north from Lancaster Avenue to the US Route 202 corridor. Residential development of similar densities also exists north of the US Route 202 corridor and east of Valley Forge Road. Very low density residential development is widespread in the northwestern portion of the Township. Single-family attached and multi-family residential developments are scattered in the areas south of the US Route 202 corridor and are generally located closer to Lancaster Avenue. The exception to this pattern is higher density attached residential units located in the Chesterbrook development. Commercial Use The largest concentration of commercial land use is along the US Route 202 corridor, where the high accessibility to the regional transportation network makes this area attractive for this type of development. In addition, there are concentrations of commercial development along Lancaster Avenue. While Lancaster Avenue is generally a continuous commercial corridor throughout Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships, the Paoli and Strafford areas show more focused and substantial commercial development. Commercial development comprises almost 11% or about 1,350 acres of land within the Township. Retail and commercial services are located along Lancaster Avenue, in the Gateway Shopping Center (located at the intersection of Valley Forge Road and Swedesford Road), in shopping centers along Route 202 (Valley Fair Shopping Center and others), and within the Chesterbrook Shopping Center. Many of these locations have auto-oriented retail uses, though Lancaster Avenue locations associated with R5 Tredyffrin Township Comprehensive Plan 10 Chapter Two: Existing Conditions EXISTING LAND USE Regional Rail stations and bus routes provide some opportunity for non-motorized access and pedestrian circulation to these establishments. Although some office developments are located along Lancaster Avenue, the majority is located along the US Route 202 corridor. Substantial concentrations are located in the vicinity of Devon Park Drive in the eastern section of the Township, at the Chesterbrook Boulevard intersection with US Route 202 in the center of the Township, and in the vicinity of Cedar Hollow Road along Tredyffrin Township’s western border with East Whiteland Township. These office developments vary in age and range from smaller scale, single-story buildings generally in the Devon Park area, to newer three- story office complexes in the Chesterbrook area. The majority of these office complexes are accessed by automobile, though some bus routes travel through this area; privately operated shuttles provide a link to the AMTRAK and SEPTA R5 train lines. Industrial Use Industrial uses comprise less than half a percent of the existing Township acreage, or just less than 50 acres. Industrial uses include enclosed manufacturing facilities located within the US Route 202 corridor. Institutional Use Public and private institutional uses are dispersed throughout Tredyffrin Township and use about three percent of the land, or close to 400 acres. They include public and private educational institutions, municipal buildings, public libraries, police and fire protection facilities and places of worship. Transportation and Utilities A network of highways, roads, and both passenger and freight rail are visually apparent on Tredyffrin’s geography. These include the Pennsylvania Turnpike, US Route 202, US Route 30 (Lancaster Avenue), PA 252, and PA 422. Other prominent transportation features include the AMTRAK rail line that closely parallels Lancaster Avenue and is used by the SEPTA